Silhouette

The contract turned out to be a very pleasant surprise for James. It was straightforward, short, and he would even argue it was in his favor. He still consulted his colleagues and allies, chief of which Nanyet and Blake, experts when it came to such contracts, to be sure he wasn't being deceived, but they confirmed his initial feeling. The pay was generous, though not his main concern. The contract guaranteed he would be protected, all abilities he would use would be kept secret, and he was free to leave as soon as his job was done, regardless of what would happen next.

Sure, there were consequences as well. He wouldn't be allowed to take anything from the site, he too would have to keep his mouth shut about what the others did, and he would have to stick around until his job was done outside of emergencies or Doctor Bones told him otherwise. But those were fair expectations for the situation. In an environment as cutthroat as the Sunken City and the criminal underworld in general, he expected something more one-sided.

It took an hour in total for him to prepare - half of that time to go over the contract, the other to coordinate his subordinates in his absence. They were already mostly independent for the most part, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Just in case this would take longer than planned. In a world with demons and mutants, he had a feeling investigating ancient ruins would be more eventful than just walking around taking photos and dusting artifacts. Not that archeology was a walk in the park even back on Earth, but he doubted there were as many undead and curses back in his old world.

His preparations done, James followed the merry band of mercenaries and their billionaire employer as they headed to the ruins. The trip was quick by virtue of the group using something more advanced than a mere bark to travel the Sewer Network, instead relying on a large speedboat. Doctor Bones, Pierre the lion man, and Sabile the geomancer rode on the boat, Pierre at the helm, while Bo ran on the surface of the water, boosting his speed and keeping himself clean with holy powers, or whatever monk shenaniganry he had going on. James joined the others on the boat, of course.

After that, it was back down to the Sunken City, this trip relying on a magical elevator this time around rather than the finicky mechanical ones James was used to. They all stood on a stone disk with a crystal embedded in the middle that floated down to the ground, the disk going quite fast without its passengers feeling any of the speed. James was sure Decanov could make something along those lines if he tried, but... Well, this was further encouragement to follow Mesker's advice and try and recruit a permanent magic specialist for his core team.

Down on the ground, James discovered the center of the Old Zalcien for the first time. And... Well, it was strangely unremarkable. Well, there were important buildings there, of course, he could even see the resemblance between the city hall and the ones from back home, but... That was precisely it: aside from the state of the Sunken City, the architecture was mundane, almost homely in a strange way. Compared to the high-tech and towering steel and glass monoliths of the modern city center, this felt as though a town had grown into a city, and its historical administrative district had been left as it was when it was first built. Which is precisely what Doctor Bones confirmed as she cheerfully explained the city's past. Her focus may have been on Neiclaz, but she hadn't faked her research into the Old Zalcien either.

"See, it's easy to forget since the current city was a big reset, but settlements don't usually have such neat administrative centers. I mean, folks back on the old continent don't still work out their castles, you know? Time passes, and as people change, so does their environment. This is the center of the Old Zalcien, but by the time the city had to be quarantined, most of the real administrative work had been moved to newer buildings further south."

"I see. I have a question, though. Time has passed, and yet rather than this shift in location, the new city still has its administrative core right in the center. Why upgrade the old buildings up there rather than move?"

"Well, because this whole mess happened. The Heroes are in the center to cover as much of the city as possible, but the safest area is still right outside their door. Why move from there?"

"While it may be more costly and less efficient, it's safer to renovate and upgrade their current accommodations than look for new ones."

"Compare that to the past. The Headquarters in the Old Zalcien were built to the west, since the Union wasn't a thing yet when the construction of the city started. They just put it down where they could. And while Villains and monsters were already around, there had been no catastrophe on the level of what destroyed the city to instill that healthy dose of paranoia into everyone."

"Fascinating. And Neiclaz was right under their feet this entire time?"

"Swamps swallow things really easily. You'd be surprised how many prehistoric beasts and artifacts were preserved by those, sometimes even better than things from a few centuries ago."

"Still, for a structure as large as Neiclaz appears to be from what you shared..."

"A structure made to bury itself in the first place, remember. That, and you'd be surprised how many ancient cities and buildings without that feature ended up in the ground, dirt piling up on top for new folks to settle down."

"I am somewhat familiar with the concept, though usually those are on the scale of millennia, not merely centuries."

"Depends on the terrain. Sure, plains don't move much, but that's only one type of environment. Oh! We've arrived!"

The lost wonder of Neiclaz was... Not quite what James expected. Yes, he knew the structure would be buried, but he expected at least the ground level to be, well, on the ground, even if only because of Doctor Bones and her team unearthing it. Sure, it would be ground level in a pit in the pavement, but the outer walls of the structure would be exposed. Instead, it had only been dug out on the inside. If anything, it looked almost like a quarry, except built in the middle of ruins. Increasingly smaller rings of removed ground showed the dark green inner sides of the marble rings that composed Neiclaz, exposing triangular doors and windows, pointing up and down, respectively.

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The size of the structure was a surprise as well. He expected the so-called tower to be a few stories tall at best, but the sheer size of each ing was remarkable, and it stood as tall as the central pit was deep, then it could rival modern buildings and skyscrapers with no shame. It wouldn't be the tallest thing in Zalcien, but it would also be far from the smallest.

James noted the doors and windows seemed to line up, which made sense if the entire structure was meant to be able to become a flat fort of sorts. There were likely more doors and windows on the outer side that would then let light shine through the entire structure while it was on the ground, or even let people on the opposite sides of the same ring see each other when it was a proper tower. This begged the question of how these rings moved, which was partly answered by the rail-like grooves and ridges between the openings. Still, James had a feeling magic was involved. A habitable telescopic tower had never been made back on Earth for a reason, and even here on Terra Stellis, he had never heard of anything similar.

The rail-like grooves weren't the only ones. They were the deepest and most noticeable, yes, but his senses could also notice the countless smaller ones that formed patterns and weren't connected to any ridge. Truthfully, it'd be more accurate to call these carvings, given the situation. Whoever these ancient people were, they seemed to have a liking for simple geometrical shapes, using mostly polygons. No smooth curves, though, strangely, despite the shape of Neiclaz's rings. Then again, James wasn't an expert in that field.

Scaffolding let the group descend through the rings, aiming for the lowest one - though it wasn't the lower floor, as evidenced by the dark green stone they walked on to enter the door. The inside was... Well, a lot of dark green marble with carvings in them, as could be expected, with the addition of hollow squares of smooth surfaces between openings. James didn't know how Doctor Bones figured he was curious about those, given his lack of unconscious body language, but she started explaining all the same.

"There used to be tapestries there. We carefully removed them and placed them in a safe location, after noting where each one was, of course."

"Let me guess, polygonal designs there too?"

"Indeed, aside from those depicting Neiclaz from above, those did have proper curves."

"Interesting."

"You should see the colors! Oh, they're simply marvelous. And the best preserved out of the three sites. They're a little worn, but overall in an incredibly good state."

"I'm sensing a pattern. The ruins that were isolated from the rest of the world the longest and with no Super interference are the ones that are the best preserved. How shocking."

"Alright, alright, I know I ramble a bit, but you have to understand how important this all is to me. I became an archaeologist thanks to these people, so finally finding so much about them is..."

"It was a jest, Doctor. I work with two inventors as eccentric as they are geniuses, I am used to far worse rambling."

"Oh, right, you're the guy Decanov actually likes. Or at least likes enough not to sabotage. How the hell did you do it? I'm not a local or interested in super science and even I know he's a prickly fellow."

"Treating him well does wonders for trust."

"Uh. Makes sense, I suppose."

"By the way, Doctor, if I may? I've been curious about something for a little while now. You'll have to admit Doctor Bones sounds like a pseudonym, yet Mr. Potisha signed his letter on your behalf with a full name."

"Ah! Yeah, I get that a lot. But no, Bones is my real name, and my doctorate in archaeology and anthropology is legit. See, my ancestors were the poor shmucks vonluntold by their local dragon population to protect their sacred graveyard. Well, they made some money on the side selling the smaller and less noticeable bones. And when the big lizards stopped showing up, they sold everything else."

"And that's where your family fortune comes from?"

"Well, the historical one, yes. My grandparents invested in urban development and early tech. But enough about the old money, here's our destination!"

Doctor Bones gestured to the sole door on the outside of Neiclaz that had been dug out, forming a tunnel and a staircase to the only non-ring below.

"See, the lack of stairs in the structure was a safety feature. The keepers of these structures all learned some rudiments of magic, enough to figure out a simple levitation spell. That way, only people who could fly or float could travel between the floors once it was up, and each floor would be isolated when buried underground like this. But, unlike the other floors, this central one has an actual door to close rather than a permanent opening."

The group reached the bottom of the dirt stairs and turned to see that, indeed, a triangular slab of stone blocked the way further, and yet more designs were etched on its surface. James could barely notice a sliver of an opening at the bottom. The sides were completely sealed.

"And this is where you come in."

"Alright. You know, I expected more traps on the way."

"We already disabled all the still functional traps. At least, those we could reach. We don't know anything about what's going on in here, but if our mindbroken undead friend didn't trip anything so far, then there's a chance there's nothing."

"A chance isn't a guarantee."

"Oh, I never said otherwise. The traps we found were mostly blades and spikes. The metal they were made of has the same anti-power properties the walls do, so they could damage you, but..."

"You figured I could shapeshift around them."

"The way you played with the mics at that interview was eye-catching, and apparently you pulled a more impressive stunt in a small bar not long ago."

"Alright. I sneak in, open the door, and it's done."

"Yup! Don't concern yourself with our crazy friend. If anything, I'd rather you not do anything to them unless your life is in danger. If you truly have Destruction like Bo claims you do, then I'd rather spare an innocent soul from the fate you inflicted on that demon."

James nodded, ready to head in, until muttering began to sound from the inside of the chamber ahead. He had been warned, of course, but rather than the unintelligible ramblings Bones described, what he heard were far more understandable and somewhat chilling words. The lament of a broken man.

"I can fix this. I can fix this. It's not my fault. I can fix this."

James paused as he listened, only to be brought out of his fugue by Doctor Bones' own sigh.

"Oh, if only we knew what they were muttering about in there."

It was then that James was reminded of a small fact about his new body he tended to forget, given how irrelevant it was compared to the rest. His innate ability to automatically translate things. It never really came up since everyone in Zalcien spoke the same language and the wider internet was unavailable given the ACS' habit of keeping its various city-states isolated, but it was something he had figured out about himself a while ago.

And it looked like it finally came into play.

"He's trying to convince himself he can fix something he broke."

"Wait, you understand it? How?"

"A lesser used tool in my powerset."

"Alright. Good. Great! Look, I know we already signed a contract, but if you can interrogate the person inside, I'll give you a huge bonus, alright?"

"I'll see what I can do."

His piece said, James turned into a shadow and headed in.

It was time for him to speak to another dead man walking.